• At a Glance: Could be the Canadiens played in snowshoes instead of skates? The Habs resumed their holiday-spanning, seven-game road trip Sunday on blizzard-pounded Long Island with a 4-1 loss to the lowly New York Islanders. Playing before a hardy crowd of 3,136, who’ll still be shovelling out their cars at dawn, Montreal surrendered first- and second-period goals to the home team and couldn’t solve goalie Dwayne Roloson until the game was well decide. The Canadiens enjoyed a 39-25 edge in shots on goal.

• The Scoring: Blake Comeau hit the scoresheet first on a partial breakaway midway through the first period, defenceman Alexandre Picard caught pinching deep in the New York zone and blue-line partner Yannick Weber outlegged in the race. Then Michael Graber pounced on a Picard giveaway late in the second to race in alone and beat Habs goalie Carey Price to make it 2-0. (It could have been 3-0, but what appeared to be an Islanders goal earlier in the second on sloppy Price clearing was disallowed; replays seemed to show the puck across the goal line before it was scooped away by defenceman Josh Gorges.) The Isles increased their lead to three when P.A. Parenteau scored during a five-minute power play early in the third, Max Pacioretty having been given a major (and game misconduct) for boarding. Then it was 4-0 when James Wiesniewski beat Price 2:20 later on a 5-on-3 advantage, Scott Gomez off for tripping during Pacioretty’s major. Habs’ Tomas Plekanec ended Roloson’s shutout bid with 12:09 to play.

• Key Moment: The Canadiens dominated the second period and had numerous chances to tie the game, outshooting their hosts 16-7, but Grabner’s late goal would serve to break the Habs.

• What It Means: The Canadiens lost their sixth game in their past eight, having been outscored 29-18 during that span. They’re 1-3 to start this road trip, their longest of the season.

• What’s Next: The Habs had planned to fly out of New York postgame, but they changed that idea early in the day. The team was to overnight near the Uniondale arena before practising Monday morning there, then chartering to Washington later in the day – weather permitting – for Tuesday’s game against the Capitals. Games Thursday and Friday in Florida will end the trip and the 2010 calendar year; Montreal is back home Sunday afternoon against the Atlanta Thrashers.

184 Comments

A defensive system is one thing. A system which takes any and every player and squeezes the skill quotient out of his game inored to “keep it simple” and play ‘on the backfoot’ all the game is demoralising. It subtly defeats the energy borne out of exploiting your talent for the thrill of individual extraordinariness which invigorates and inspires teammmates and provide the catalyst for ‘turning points’ moments. When did you last see a hab (except the goalkeeper) and especially on the offensive sid eof play make a play which you would describe as ‘a turning point’ moment.

Dont let the cliched analysis of the NJ Devils system fool you to the greatness of the players developed in that system and the aggressive domination of the ice which they sought to achieve on every shift. The DID NOT SIT BACK and play as if scared to lose.

he hasn’t looked like last year alright, seriously. team in front of him needs to give him a break, can’t keep away from the stupid penalty box and missing every wide open net at the other end?! unbelievable. they need to play better in front of price.

two breakways (yea would be nice to stop them), a terrible bounce to an open guy and a PP goal. give him a break….. habs scored one goal and the D were terrible. yes that handling of the puck was horriffic on the one playt

in my opinion, if i were such a coach, he wanted to give him an extra day off for the holidays, and then play him for the next month good or bad… the reason? because, most players on our team are average, and we have a less than average defense now that marky is gone until next season (i hope not, and hope earlier… what is his status anyways? skating? limping? what?) other than hamerlik who is a work horse and has been relatively constant (which pk can learn from) he and picard, are really our top 2-3, and then add PK and we’ll see… the big tall guy is slow, Georges has slowed down, and Spacek really hasn’t been effective of late (or ever, this season). Weber is ok, and can QB the pp… so can PK… just do it Jack, insert him for a good month, and then evaluate him… we neeeeed him, especially now…

Hey Bugs, I replied to the discussion we had on the 24th… not sure if you saw but here it is http://habsinsideout.com/main/42069?page=1 …. let me know what you think now. That’s all i really need, since you are the only one who really replied to my reply to yours

Hope you and the rest here had a Merry Christmas…. too bad the habs didn’t “show up” tonight.

If anyone listened to the Anti Chambre on RDS after the game, i for one, completely agreed with Francois Gagnon, Marino, and the one on the far right and left (forgot their names). Bergy is too old for today’s hockey… But line changing and constant panick is not “the habs” system… JM or not, we really need a better coach. I hope he gets it, or get fired…. because i’m not sure if i’m right, but Subban is not hurting our team now, is he? We neeeeeeeed him on the ice for the next 10 games, and then make a decision on him… he’s a kid afterall…

You can complain all you want about the coaching…I’m not a martin fan… but…tonight was a team thing…Habs scoring % was 2.6 compared to the Isles 16.0 %…I think that pretty much sums up the game against a 29th place team……awful

Not too bash on Carey, As I’m one of his biggest supporters but he just hasn’t been sharp the last 8 games at all. Hes looking more and more like last years goalie then the guy he was at the beginning of the year. Hes not tracking the puck aswell as he was in the beginning of this season. I’m not as confident in him as I was at the beginning of November. I think we need to give him some more rest.

I’m sure he will bounce back!!!!!! The habs always slump around this time of the year!!!!!

Have to wonder what explanation would be given for sitting PK. I mean, this is embarrassing. It’s not like we have six all-stars back there. This was a pathetic display tonight, no energy, Pleks was the only guy who looked like he gave a sh*t. I am growing sick of this decision to sit PK, unless the guy went postal at practice or told JM where to go…..which is highly doubtful.

We need a shake up, too many games in a row that the team is looking awfully plain, slow, tired, whatever you want to call it. Bring up the Hamilton boys and create a line with Desharnais and White, if for nothing else but energy. This loyalty to veterans like Spacek, or loyalty to Picard because he has a solid + – has got to end, the coach is not being paid to do anything but win. When teams skate like Montreal did tonight, they were not interested, those 20 guys could have done the same without a coach.

Laps is a targeted diver in the league now and if the stripe had any balls he would’ve just called Laps on a dive. I hate that even up call. It’s either one or the other, not both. The stripes since going to a 2 man system are a travesty on ice!

Hate to slag on Price……but he’s very very very below average when it comes to breakaways. I know it’s not his fault that the breakaways are coming his way, but all year he’s been really weak when it comes down to a one on one showdown. Hammer is sucking once again and I think Auld has to start getting some more games or Sanford because although Price ISN’T at fault for the losses lately the goals against are really starting to creep up at a high rate. 5 vs philly, 3 vs detroit, 3 vs Boston, 3 vs colorado, 4 vs Dallas and another 4 tonight. JM should’ve pulled him after the fourth but he’s a jabroni so what can you do. Get Auld or Sanford in next JM! And please keep PK in now, no matter what. He’s our best D-man and doesn’t belong in the presser!

All you JM supporters out there, please tell me what JM is going to pull out of his bag of magic tricks now?, surely he must have some new “potion” cooked up with all the notes he makes on that little notepad of his?

Bench PK, check!

Pound the Islanders, check…wait a minute….

So what new “strategy” can I look forward to tuning in to the next game for?

utter humiliation, it’s 4-0 isles, i can’t take anymore, i’m otta here. Can’t even post on Boone’s Blog…I smell a steady slide out of playoff contention. CP is less than ordinary, and, without him we’re toast….why does something like this have to happen every f#&kin’ year, around this time, Keeerist!!!!

I don’t disagree…i was just pointing it out. I also agree we need our goalie to stand on his head most nights to win, but I found that during last years playoffs we found a way to bounce back after bad or early goals. We’ve seen a bit of that this season, but haven’t pulled off the “big” comeback yet ( Detroit, Philly etc.).

I wish we had the talent to go full offense, but our roster is suited to the “system”, intensional? I don’t know.

Whatever it is we did a 90` turn when we signed and traded almost half our roster and have somewhat succeded. Calgary tried doing it mid season and look at that mess.

Ah yes! get the first goal and then try to sit on that lead to win the game, that’s the “system”. And that’s why I started my post with “IMHO” because I don’t like this kinda system.

However, with the “system”, in order to win games we have to have our goalie standing on his head in every game (and when he lets a soft one in – just one – then we’re done) and hope for the best that someone will score one more goal than the opposition.

We’re not good from coming behind precisely for that, we are not an offensive team that can attack and score at will, that’s why there are only a few handful games we come behind to win.

The Devils won cups but they had Brodeur in goal (can you say standing on his head more than once?) and a superior defensive talent as well as a good offence. However, I wonder how they’re doing this year?

Besides, against Devils’ “boring” 3 cups, how many cups were won several times over by teams playing with a regular defensively balanced offensive game. I can name several times more winners than 3 in one breath.

That would seem to have some basis. We’ve lost a couple of games because we stopped skating and just kept backing up. PK is the kind of player we NEED because his break-outs keep the other team on their heels. But the whole team needs to be able to play that game… and it’s not how we play.

To put it more succinctly, Martin has his defensive system in place, so where’s the offensive system?

or maybe he likes to coach a very defensive system that led the Devils to 3 cups? Boring or not, to win the cup you need a strong defensive team,you can have all the talent in the world but without a defensive structure you’ll never win when it matters(Caps). People talk about JM ruins young players, Havalt, Hossa, Afly, Yashin,Bonk, all turned out pretty good 2 way players imo, funny how the only player JM had issue’s with was Speeza, funny how he is still making rookie mistakes as vet. So I Much rather P.K. sit out and learn from this as opposed to be the next Mike Green.

IMHO, JM is a coach who coaches for “not to lose” instead of winning, i.e. not to lose first and hope for the best that we’ll score one more goal than the opposition (thus 2-1, 3-2 etc games that he’s aiming for).

I believe this is a sign of most coaches who have been around a while (in all team sports), who become afraid of making mistakes and try to preserve the status quo (reputation) instead of being daring and using creativity & inventiveness to win games.

Very unfortunate for Subban and Pouliot and also for the team (especially in the long run) and of course, for most (if not all) of us who want the very best for the team.

Really? It seems to me the team tries to get the first goal in most, if not every game. And they have the first goal more often than not…thing is they need to score first, we’re not good at coming from behind.

i really hope that tonight is a good game that ends in our favour. I am upset that PK is benched yet again. Yes he is young and the coaching staff need to understand that he will make mistakes occassionally. Is anyone else excited to see the Canadiens on hbo in a week or so? I would be surprised for the show to not mention anything about Washington’s failure to get past the first round last year when the two teams meet.

I agree that he should never have been benched in the first place. However in order to get the swagger back he needs to play as many games as possible. This is possible the best prospect/rookie that has been in the system since LaFleur and I do not know what the general public will do if the coaching staff is ruined. I like the system that JM is coaching but his coaching of individual players leaves much sto be desired.

guys do any of u know of any way of recording the game? excluding recording it on VHS and i only own a regular illico box so i cant record on that either…or of any site that actually allows you to watch the whole game after it is played? this will be the first game of the year that I am going to miss….

I’m sure Martin is a good coach. There has to be a reason why he has lasted in the NHL this long. I just find his psychological stuff very confusing. I’m sure the players find it confusing as well, at least the young players.

I’m sure Martin is a good coach. But for all his wins he’s never won a cup. And even if he did, everyone has their weaknesses. Coaches-of-the-year get fired the next year because they’re not what the team needs at that time.

I don’t think we have to look on everything Martin does as “he knows what he’s doing”…. no-one is always rigth and I think he’s messing up Pk and his biases are bad for team balance. Hell, Carbo had the team clicking for a few months until they hit a bump in the road and Carbo totally lost his grip on his players.

We’ve won 2 games of the last 8, without major injuries (excluding Markov) in a division where absolutely 1 or 2 points will be the difference between making the playoffs and re-making Happy Gilmour for at least a couple of teams.

At what point will you be ready to acknowledge that there’s a problem (aside from a talent shortage)? While JM is playing his little head games with certain talented players we are going down the toilet.

Price is tiring, possibly, as many of you predicted. The players are afraid to make mistakes. If you want a perfect hockey game hire figure skaters. The little round black thing make mistakes a big part of the game. Be creative and take advantage of them.

Count Chocula is Cinnamon Toast. Whether that is acknowledged in time for us to rebound and make the playoffs or not is the only question.

F-n crazy. Hamrlik and Spacek have been alternating games to see who can freak up more (you know what I mean) and Pyatt, while good defensively is as 1-dimensional as a player can get. Lapierre has been anything but stellar, Moen’s playing soft. WTF??

PK and Pouliot BOTH bring great skill. Sitting them for 1 game (like AK) to say something I understand. But sitting them over time is just building frustration and confusion.

martin knows that the majority of the games the habs win are 2-1 ,3-2 type games…he rather have players who check like pyatt who have no scoring skills at all than pouliot who scores 2 goals every 10 games …right now we cannot give up 3 goals a game and hope to win. pouliot has to become an impact scorer before he replaces pyatt,moen etc in martins mind…while we need pk to carry the puck out of our zone he has made mistakes that caused goals and again because of our poor offense martin will not tolerate mistakes as the team cannot win most games when they give up 3 goals…

PK will make mistakes. But on a good game PK is not just a decent player, he’s one of our BEST players. Martin’s job is to get a good game out of PK. Since he’s been “teaching” PK, PK’s play has declined. Too bad we can’t play PK and bench Martin.

That’s the problem, it’s a marathon not a sprint. JM doesn’t look like a sprinter… but he doens’t look like a runner at all really. : )

I seriously think he’s messing up here. And even though AK scored in his game back, his comment that “I haven’t talked to the coach” about why he was benched is to me the kind of grumbling that can spell death for an old fashioned coach who doesn’t believe in communication. Martin’s not Scotty Bowan. But I bet even Bowman would take the time to share 15 words with a scratched player about what the guy needs to do. To NOT talk is not right. You don’t need a big conversation but you need to put the idea in his head for him to focus on.

Now before anyone thinks Im bashing P.K. Im not because I love him, but how has he been our best player, he has not really done much for the PP, his 5 on 5 has been ok, Hamrlik, Gorges, Gill have been better, i’d put him at par with Spacek in regards to overall play on D looking at everything so far this season. I know P.K. is going to be better then all of them but so far this season he has not been one of our best players.

i totally agree with all these replies… but, just play the kid, for a month, you;ll then see what kind of game he plays, win or lose. i’d pair him with with hamerlik, or georges (defensive d’s) not anyone else…

That was the Habs Boxing Day Blow Out…. I very much doubt that a bag skate can fix this and what concerns me is with all the bad moves the Islander owners and management have made “Historically bad” over the years,their able to put a much better team on the ice than the Habs! We be in trouble…….

Gained had his days no doubt, but ever since his daughter died he lost his desire to achieve anything with the team and quite frankly, it shows. We’re not going to accomplish anything significant while Gainey still pulls the stings behind the curtain and we will be little more than a .500 team struggling to make 8th place in order to reach the play-offs.

We need a new direction and more capable management and Gainey just ain’t it.

can’t complain about price cuz seriously if our team could stay out of the box and hit the net half the time it wouldn’t be an issue. so many times we miss the net and it’s wide open. taking stupid penalties every where.

Well, I think we have a better team than last year but man did we stink the joint out tonite. Best move right now is to dump JM, bring somebody in who is going to put the best guys on the ice night after night and not play childish games with anyone. I think the assistant coaches are good. Let the best players learn from their mistakes by playing together night after night. I’ve got a theory that JM wants to get fired. Give him what he appears to want. Lets vary our game with some up tempo hockey mixed with some solid defensive strategies. Set our sites high instead of being hostage to a the high school principal who wants to show those more gifted than him, who is boss. What happened to this team?

Gorges: playing like a little girl because he has some secret injury or whatever

Picard: soft lately

Spacek and Hamrlik: eat too many minutes – tired, old

meanwhile, PK Subban sits up in the press box GO FIGURE!!!! How good are the Canadiens at developping defensive prospcets? O’byrne = FAIL. Streit let go for nothing. McDonagh, arguably the best defensive prospect for the habs in a long time, traded. And now PK, this guy is supposed to crack the 2014 Olympics Team Canada roster with all his talent, yet he sits his 6th game of the season….

You’d be making me cry if I wasn’t so tired from all the screaming at the tv. Martin’s running out of options… who willl he bench for his next ‘lesson’? How about Plekanec? He’s still young. There must be some reason he should sit.

During an interview after a loss, Mike Babcock said something to the effect of “we didn’t do our job preparing our guys as well as they needed to be prepared. We (the coaching staff) will need to be do better for next game”. MAN that is an AWESOME SMART thing to say.

Now compare this to an exerpt from THE HABS Solution to Tough Problems HANDBOOK:

1. Bench a good player (any good player!).

2. Trade a talented upstart player for someone safe and quiet.

3. Ignore it. (Return to 1.)

JM is starting to be a joke to me. Yes, defensive system, blah blah blah. But where’s the offensive system? And where’s the ability to motivate, inspire, cajole, whatever. So we have a strong defensive-minded team that on some nights (nights it gets lights-out goal-tending and nights when the goal-scorers get lucky bouces) we can dominate.

But Price is showing he’s VERY human (who said JM was going to stupidly ride him into the ground… oh yeah, me), the defense is looking frazzled, and the offensive line tinkering is leaving us with 1 good line (on some nights).

JM is a very professional, solid, defensively astute hockey coach who runs a good bench. He’s also an obessive tinkerer and an unemotional robot with a limited repetiore of motivational tactics. You don’t win championships with a 1-trick pony. Maybe that’s why he’s never won one.

I for one can’t wait to see which defenseman plays like CRAP next game while Subban misses out on the chance to help his team and to keep learning, whether painful or not, we need this kid on the ice, and he needs the experience.

JM’s management of the roster is beyond moronic. To sit Pouliot and PK on an offensively challenged team is unjustifiable. The only reason he played Pouliot tonight is because Moen was sick. Playing an obviously injured Gorges and tired duo of Spacek and Hammer.

In the last 7 games Price’s save percentage is .870. I know no one on HIO will ever admit to Price having a bad game but the stats don’t lie. He is not the same goalie he was in the first two months, and any one with half a brain can see he is mentally tired, if not physically worn down.

JM has NO clue how to run a bench and roster over a season. He is going to run the veterans and Price into the ground.

two words . . . GUY BOUCHER. lol. It’s also safe to say that a new coach will provide for games that are actually FUN to watch. Our games aren’t as boring as NJ but not too far away.

Martin is a good coach who knows how to prepare his team for a hockey game. I’ll give him that but his tactics are very old skool, like Bob Gainey. There’s NO way JM will get fired this season. Desperation will prevent the team from going on extra long losing streaks. He also took the team to the Eastern Conference Finals (ya he owes it to Halak, but still outcoached Boudreau).

THIS RECENT LOSING TREND HAS ME SINCERELY WORRIED FOLKS.Are we better than mediocrity?I thought we were.Somethings not right with the gang.Eh??What do ya think it is?Im not sure.But tonight was a disgrace and an embarrassment to lose to those guys.What’ll the Habs brass do now to fix this train wreck???Sure theres a light at the end of the tunnel…..or is that just another train heading our way?WTF boys …GET IT TOGETHER!!!

A quick recap of the Head/Heart sweepstakes in predictions (done when there’s nothing better to do): The first three were made at the start of the season, at the five game mark and again at the 20-game mark. Before tonight’s game, my Heart had shown a far better nose in forecasting how the Habs will fare, predicting they would have 38 points at this juncture, four less than what the team has accrued. My Head thought far less of the team, thinking it would have collected a mere 31 points by now.

Here’s the final prediction: Given the Habs’ recent lacklustre results, they will do well to play much above .500. My Heart, ever the optimist, says the Canadiens will finish 23-20-3 for 49 points, which will give them 91 points by season’s end. My Head says it will be more like 21-21-5, which will give the team 47 points, and 89 for the season.

Either scenario suggests Montreal will be hard-pressed to make the playoffs, as feared from the outset, unless the team can get out of its funk very quickly (by what means?), or swing a trade (but at what cost to its future, which I’m prepared to wait out rather than act in haste out of desperation. This team doesn’t strike me as a Cup contender right now, so why waste draft picks or prospects to play a few extra games in the post-season? If it involves dispatching a few underperforming players, fine, but how much can you expect in return.).

A third alternative would be to inject some farm talent into the lineup to see what they can bring in the way of enthusiasm and talent.

The fourth option, of course, would be to find a new coach but this would be a Band-Aid response to the team’s current woes, and who would be the knight in shining armour? Kirk Muller? Hardly seems fair to him. I would suggest letting Martin play out the string to see if he can recreate last season’s success as the schedule winds down. But clearly he’s on borrowed time.

In a way these <insert most appropriate adjective> players deserved it. On the other hand, it;s not like they give a crap. I am not even going to get into the whole PK thing. What, like he would have helped today. This game is on shameless money grabbers like Gomez, Gionta, Cammilleri, Plekanec, AK and … ok, we only have 5 so called top 6 forwards (if you can call this top anything). For a team that is supposed to be a puck possession team possession was absolutely pathetic. I lost count of number of fanned on shots, missed shots, pucks hopping over stikcs, overskated pucks, etc… Cammilleri is a bigger floater than Kovalev, at least Kovalev seemed to care from time to time. And I don’t care how hard (presumably) Gomez and Gionta work. For the money they get paid they must score, period. Defense is crap. Jacko wacko Martin is a power tripping egomaniac who will only win based on the number of rookies he ruined.

Ah well… should be fun in washington and the rest of the season in general. This team is not better than last year. Price is not going to pull another Halak this spring so first round exit for Jacko Wacko this time around.

For those of you blaming Price for the loss you are overlooking a very important fact. We scored only one goal. How many games can be won by scoring only one goal? That’s the problem that needs to be resolved. Price cannot carry the team every single night.

Nahhh, you think? I was hoping someone would take a slap shot at a ref’s head on a clearing attempt. Yes it’s not nice, and I’m eveil for thinking that, but either they need new contact prescriptions or a knock to the noggin.

Can’t expect to win when you kill 19 minutes worth of Penalties (including a 5 and an extended 5 on 3) and only wind up with 2 PPs of your own in the same game. That’s about 1/3 of the game spent playing with fewer players than the other team and the rest of the game even up. If you win one of those, you consider yourself fortunate for the theft and get away as soon as possible.

Told myself I wasn’t going to get yanked into the den of negative junk that follows a bad loss, but I’ll set myself apart from the crowd a bit and go with what I’ve said and gotten in trouble (for reasons I don’t know why) for saying is that Price needs a few nights off.

Goalies are mortal beings, they have mental fatigue and must rest upon occasion, especially considering Price has not faced a heavy, heavy workload since 2006-2007. 70-game goalies don’t work out and this is why, not Price’s fault the team couldn’t convert on any scoring chances but he would’ve stopped some of those goals 10 games ago.

The inconsistency, the fact that the team cant wake up for a lot of games that they should win, the overplaying of price, the underplaying of subban, the underperforming of our top forwards, the constant line juggling, the random benchings, and the fact that once we spot a team a lead, we cant come back, all further compound the fact that JM is not the coach for this team.

For the group of players the habs have, JM is not the coach that will bring them success. Maybe hes a good coach, maybe he isnt, but he just isnt a good coach for the group of players currently wearing habs uniforms.

Rather than using guys to their strengths, he tries to change all the players and make them play HIS game. THats not how you find success, and thats not how you get your players to play hard.

Same thing with ottawa. Maybe clouston is a good coach, maybe he isnt, he just isnt the coach thats going to get the most out of his particular group of players.

Tell me JM has a winning record all you want, but he has coached some real good teams, and he has ZERO cup rings to show for it.

…I promised Myself not to mention Guy Boucher again until after all the results are in for this season …but I think I will break that promise if only to illustrate My opinion that I feel Martin’s so-called ‘system’ demands players to play an exceptionally high-tempo and a self-discipline game that is very hard to maintain over a prolonged period of time, especially because Our talent-level/overall physical robustness requires We play beyond Our talent-level …therein Our Players are more prone to burn-out under Martin

…My opinion was Guy Boucher represented an opportunity for Our Habs to return to an intelligent fire-wagon style of hockey, …the major contrast with the JM-type ‘system’ is that Boucher productively encourages each individual player’s unique talents within ‘his system’, …wherein Jacques Martin prefers pounding square-pegs into round-holes

…the positive is Jacques Martin’s ace-in-the-hole, compared to other teams he has coached in the NHL, is Our Team do have extremely ‘intelligent’ Players with great character …when the chips are down, I have no doubt They will answer the bell like They showed Us last Spring …the question is, …will We have the same level of goaltending ?

…this from a Carey Fan …Price stank on ALL 4 goals …Carey Price stank as much as the rest of the Team …if You are in the least bit objective …He was very much the 2009/2010 Carey Price tonight …and has been slipping to this level over the past several games with occasional flashes of brilliance …only reasonable to be worried …because our Team needs a better than mediocre goalie to go anywhere …the thing is not to lose Our heads, because We see this all through the League, teams ebbing and waning …even Jaro was in a funk for much of this early season, yet seems to be coming back into form again …but lets be frank about Carey Price …He has returned into last season’s mediocrity at the moment …He has yet to reach the stamina of a Marty Brodeur, and should be rested every 8 games or so

There was a time during this season (a fair amount of time -not like after the first 5 games) that Tampa Bay was the team that allowed the fewest shots on goal (or one of the tops in that category) If their goalies start to get going, TB will be a team that can contend.

[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.

Theres no need for that, I wish the refs would put their whistles away…Hockey wasnt meant to be played like this. An equivalent in football would be to spot a team 50 yards for a penalty (guaranteeing an automatic field goal at the least). Sure todays game has a faster pace but theres not that intensity of old.

[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.

Its good the habs lost, that way Weber will be back in the stands and PK will be back in. The fact the habs had won with Weber is pure dumb luck, Weber is nowhere near Subban! I agree with Triple X below about benching players who bring an offensive dimension and how stupid it is…

And I know in the end Carbo had a tough time and was basically grasping at straws but I got to stick up for him for one thing: until it all started to collapse for him in january, he actually had the habs gradually improving at even strength play (I kept stats of that stuff at the time). He was succeeding at making the team not so dependant on special teams. And for that, he deserves some credit.

[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.

Do you have such low standards generally or just for your hockey team?

I can’t choose to support another team. A team isn’t a commodity. I can’t just switch to a another team with a better record.

Do you drive a Trabant instead of a Mercedes?

Neither. Mercedes are overpriced and poorly built nowadays, and Trabants are not available in North America. However if I had say a Ford Focus I wouldn’t whine about not having a BMW all the time.

Use a PC instead of a Mac?

I use whatever computer does the job. In my work I use Macs, Windows and Linux machines.

Drink Regie box wine instead of Bordeaux?

Again a silly analogy. In consumerism (and you seem to define yourself by the luxury goods you own) you pay for what you want. You can’t do that in sports.

It’s
a free country and you can do as you wish, and you can comment as you
wish, but please stop calling people who have STANDARDS loons. Or we’ll
start thinking you voted for Obama.

I’m Canadian, but I’m happy Obama won obviously, like almost everyone on this planet.

Bitching nonstop about the Habs isn’t “having standards”. It’s like complaining about the weather. Pointless, and gets on people’s nerves.

I have a suggestion for you, that will appeal to your LA consumerism and your rightwing politics. If you think a sports team is like a consumer good (Bettman and co. would love you by the way) then rather than whine helplessly about your Trabant-Team (the equivalent of socialism in a way) I suggest you pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and start enjoying a different team. If you’re looking for a Mercedes I believe the Red Wings are in 1st place right now. They might even have a website where you could exchange views with their fans.

I gotta stick up for LA Loyalist. He at least talks hockey and I find his acumen quite good. And hes a polite guy too. You on the other hand keep calling people loons, keep calling for calm and are generally boring.

[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.

In the NHL you need to have 4 lines going but the constant mixing and matching is obviously detrimental to our game.

Last year it was injuries. This year it’s the god damn coach.

The fact he is sitting PK for no apparent reason other than he is a rookie is part of Martin’s stupid philosphy.

It ‘is the same in our so called society today. You have to earn your stripes depite you being more skilled and talented than other individuals.

Give me a break!

It’s also pretty obvious that the game is being manipulated by the NHL for the worse and we are on the wrong side of the stick.

Oh yeah, I wouldn’t mind if one of our practices was devoted solely to firing pucks at the net for I dont’ know 12 hours straight. That might allow the players to recognize where they have to put the puck!

If we lose with a team that is focused and energized I can live with that but this team when down 1 lousy goal can’t come back.

Nice nice reply. Calmly detailed and reasoned response. I hope La Loyalist reads it with the appreciation for a finely ad civilly phrased rejoinder. If Marbury v Madison established the concept of “judicial review”, your response could likewise establish a concept of “prudent review” for HIO posters.

But then I know JM reads HIO and he may adapt the concept to add more checks and balances to his players. So I withdraw the suggestion and just revel in the flow of excitement in this instance of parry and thrust provided by you and La Loyalist… which sadly is not to be found in ‘JM’S team’ right now.

this team is very frustrating to watch. i have no idea which is the real habs. have they stopped playing for jm? also, i think sitting a very talented rookie and not letting him play and learn from his mistakes is plain stupid.

Today’s HIO forum is filled with questions and accusations about the Habs recent poor play. However, J_P posting last night resonates most with me – JM is not the coach for this group of players; his system doesn’t fit their styles. It may work somewhere else, but not here.

It’s pathetic to see constant line juggling, benching of younger players, apparent confusion on the ice. I was reminded of such incoherent coaching yesterday as I watched Singletary coach the 49ers out of the playoffs.

I don’t pretend to be an expert; just a die-hard Habs fan passing my opinion

Agree 100%. I don’t think the players like being moved all the time. I think they like stability just mlike everybody else.JM thinks it’e the players. Maybe he should have a look at his coaching methods.

From what I saw, our forwards sustained very little in the way of serious offense, losing battles along the boards and in the neutral zone. Our D allowed several key scoring opportunities. Hamrlik, Gill and Spacek look their age these days. JM leaving the youngster Subban in the stands once again while the old men continuosly make mistakes.

Pacioretty takes a 5 minute boarding, then Gomez takes a lazy man tripping just a minute later giving the Islanders a 5-3. 30 seconds later, goal. Then not a minute (or thereabouts), another goal.

Agreed Ian, i really do agree… i really hope it is better for the team (be it JM or any other player, we will see), but i think, with all my posts over the weekend (… which i am back at work now…) makes sense in a hockey teams sense, in 2010, habs or habs not… if you didn’t read it, that is ok… but what i do know, is this team needs change, and for once in a long time, for the REALLY better. we have key players on our team, and not the young ones (pouliot, pk, etc…) that may be sacrificed (definately not PK) to make a deal sweeter, with worse teams than ours (or others, that also need to better themselves), that can make such a deal. If we can do it, have them include draft picks to help our future. but don’t unload too many drafts/rookies (they are our future afterall).

Not sure what will happen, but i hope we all agree, that we do need it.

hi, like i said it before, i also think that this team needs to change, be it this year, next year or even 5 years from now… But JM is not a coach of today’s “hockey” he panicks, changes everything around, and then punishes kids. In any team today, do you really think he is a good coach? Maybe he was the best “french” coach at the time, but when it comes to coaches (gms and players are different, because if they don’t show up half the times and continue that path, i.e. Kostitsyn, who is not constant), we really need the best coach available, french english, even russian if necessary (maybe the best can be assistants), but if we continue to base ourselves, on the popular language of the province, because we have a hockey city in this province, and we all really speak both languages (in montreal actually), and if the (french) media have a problem with it… then really, stop listening to them and hire the best period. If they really care about that they would know we need this (i.e. Francois Gagnon, and others). Especially now (in a transition period of this team). Now I have no problem with JM, but as a coach, he is not the best. Look at other teams that have had the same coach for a long time (Buffalo for one), and look how the team has performed over the past 10 years (peaks and valleys happen along the way, like the habs). But if you try this technique, will we eventually succeed? Maybe… Now, Buffalo hasn’t really done anything in the past, and we may end up the same, but, maybe not recently, they have stayed constant because of this.

Now, if we do end up firing him (eventually, they all do get that), we need to all opinion or not, have a “better” coach. now i can’t see the future and hindsight is always 20/20… but can we for once try that? If the media has a problem with that, the team can afford it, hire a french/english (whatever it is) translator. Don’t fire the whole team and start over… really think about what this team needs, and then make a decision. It could be go or bad, as i said (20/20), and we can all have our opinions. But can we once try this? Gauthier? Is he listening?

I really don’t know, but what i do know is we need better, coach or player. maybe trade players who don’t show up contantly for others and then make an opinion, i really don’t know.

Ya know dude, XXX often pisses off a lot of people, myself included. But you, sir, are incapable of stringing enough cognitive thought together to make such valid points as those expressed in his above post without morphing into Trollzilla. That’s why.

I think team will eventually quit on Martin. First he will piss off the rookies and those who have no chance of getting out of his doghouse. Others will follow. Martin doesn’t offer anything to this team. The game has passed him and he personnel skills can be compared to those of Carbo or Mario.

Well… I do not absolve players from this one. The effort or execution was pathetic, especially from so called Top 5 (we don’t have a 6th guy). But you are right – it all starts with the management. Anyway, I am not going to preach to the converted.

The usual posse was absent because the server went down. On a normal night win your lose the usual posse are here to talk hockey. Unlike yourself,we didn’t sit and wait for hours and hours checking the website to come back up to troll. Mainly because we are not teenage virgins or pathetic trolls. Where have you been during the first 2 months of the season? Oh yeah,the habs were winning and just like the rest of the trolling losers were in hiding for the first 2 months and are now coming out of their holes because the team is struggling. Just shows how cowardly and pathetic the trolls are on this site. Disappear when they win and only show up when they lose. I’d be embarassed if i had such a lack of character and pride. When trolling is the only thing you have in life,your life is a failure.

I think I know more than most about hockey and believe my opinions are almost always reasonable and thought out.-manapart.